When it comes to Airbnb, there's not much middle ground. People love it — or they hate it. And how they feel may depend in great part on whether they have a neighbor who's being an exemplary — or an irresponsible — host.

Since launching this column for the Courier Journal a few months ago, I've heard from a number of folks who live near an Airbnb that's not run responsibly and they are not happy about it. “We walk past smokers on the porch, hear visitors on vacation coming and going at all hours and find our garbage cans full after they leave,” wrote one.

“We have to tolerate lost Lyft drivers, chock-a-block parking beneath the NO PARKING FIRE ZONE signs, and late and loud arrives. The good news is we all have LMPD on speed dial and have become quite vigilant,” said another.

Some even think I'm one of the bad guys. “I have a feeling that if you interviewed your neighbors that they would not support your Airbnb,” a reader emailed me.

Well fortunately in our case, our neighbors were very supportive when we applied for the conditional use permit required for short term rental hosts in Old Louisville (this “CUP” is also required throughout the city for anyone who doesn't reside in the property they're renting). We had to notify dozens of neighbors, host a neighborhood meeting, post a sign in our yard with our intent, and go to a public hearing in order to secure permission.

Anyone who objected had ample opportunity to do so.

But in other cases hosts aren't required to do this — or they are but they don't. And much of the time it's either fine, or goes undetected. But then there are those few who live near people like these readers. And that's not good for anyone. Certainly not for the neighbors whose lives are disrupted; who wants to live next door to someone who doesn't respect their community? Not for the image of home sharing or short term rentals like Airbnb overall. And not for responsible hosts who rely on these earnings and fear a clampdown because of hosts who don't seem to care about anyone else.

So I'd like to offer some help for neighbors of those problematic properties, and some unsolicited but needed reminders to the offenders.

First, for neighbors: All hosts are required to register their short term rental with Louisville Metro Government. That's a matter of paying $25 and submitting a form. If they don't live in the home they're renting (or if you're in Old Louisville), they also need the CUP and you should have been notified if you are an immediate neighbor. Visit louisvilleky.gov/government/planning-design/short-term-rental-information to see a current list of registered properties.

If the address isn't listed, you can notify the city through Metro 311. If the host is allowing guests to disrupt the neighborhood, say with loud parties or even criminal activity, you can contact Airbnb for help at airbnb.com/neighbors.

Of course there's always the old fashioned approach of talking to your neighbor. Maybe they legitimately don't know they're causing a disturbance and would like the chance to to address it. That's worth a shot before complaining to the newspaper.

For hosts: We're all in this together. If you're not on the up-and-up, it drags the rest of us down and makes it harder for travelers to trust the platform. If you accept guests who are disruptive and disrespectful, if you seriously don't care about your neighbors, aren't you at least worried they'll damage your own property? You should be. And when cities are shutting down short term rentals left and right, none of us need to give any cause for a crackdown here.

If you hate the idea of Airbnb and you don't have a problem neighbor, I hope you'll reconsider. Our guests, and the guests of hosts I know, are respectful travelers who are here to learn about Louisville and experience our hospitality. My guests enthusiastically support local businesses (while I'm writing this I'm also emailing with the mother of a guest arriving this weekend; it's the guest's birthday and her mom is ordering candy from Muth's Candies, 630 E. Market St., and flowers from Mahonia, 806 E. Market St., for me to pick up and have waiting in our Airbnb for her).

The income from their bookings helps us keep this wonderful old home we couldn't otherwise afford (really, owning a giant Victorian takes the kind of resources not generally available to a freelance writer). They are respectful of street parking; I don't even hear them and they're under my same roof; and they go home and tell other people what a wonderful place Louisville is.

And one last thing. If you're fortunate, you yourself are a vacationer from time to time, a stranger in another place. Maybe you've even booked a vacation rental at a beach somewhere, and in the midst of having so much fun were laughing too loudly once as you came back to your temporary home. Is that reason for someone to despise their neighbor?

Whether it's called Airbnb or something else, whatever regulations come and go, short term vacation rentals aren't going anywhere. The sooner we can all learn to play nicely together the better off we'll be.